Some Kill With Arrows, Some With Traps
by Nosono Takako
Summary: "She will die if you love her not and she will die ere she might make her love known." AU
1. Chapter 1

_He was barely of age, still in the thick of his training, and allowed to finally dress in a man's robes for a distant relative's wedding. During the festivities, he was forced to begin networking with all the other noble leaders. It was a man's job but it was boring. His grandfather, he noticed, was keeping a keen eye on him. An attendant poured him his first flask of sake, to which he was told to down in one go. He sputtered and thought the warm weather took a turn for the worse. His flask was filled at least four more times with the finest sake that local lords brought to the celebrations. The Lords themselves would pat his back and compliment his grandfather on what a fine young heir he was. Many would nudge him and remind his grandfather that his heir would have his own heirs soon with a face like his._

 _By the time drunk dancing was under way, Byakuya secluded himself on the veranda with other tired, more aged guests. He made polite conversation with them before becoming extremely bored and resigning himself to silence._

 _Ladies had begun dancing for their relatives, earning many cheers and applause as their graceful moves lightened up the atmosphere. They had silk fans tied with ribbons that fluttered with their silk sleeves as they moved._

 _Many younger ones looked in his direction with shy smiles and blushes._

 _Ginrei was opposite of his grandson on the other side of the vast garden. He was standing; Lord Taira and Lady Minamoto were standing beside him._

" _Lord Kuchiki, you must be very proud of Lord Byakuya. He's turned into a handsome and strong young man." Ginrei nodded to Lady Minamoto's compliments. "Surely you've begun to plan for his future as I have for my daughter's, Lady Kotone."_

" _What a coincidence Lady Minamoto," Lord Taira interjected. "I was just in the works for my daughter Lady Nobuko." There was stiff silence and Ginrei sighed._

" _I hate to disappoint you both, but arrangements have already been made between my family and the Shihoin clan." Surprise registered on both of their faces._

" _Their age difference is most…different." Lady Minamoto forced._

" _Lady Yoruichi is the heir to the Shihoin clan. While she is a few years older than Lord Byakuya, their sense of duty to their families will make them a perfect pair." Lady Minamoto bowed humbly._

" _I meant no offense, Lord Kuchiki." Ginrei waved her supplications away and walked away from them both. Lady Minamoto looked at Lord Taira._

" _A union between Kuchiki and Shihoin. What are they scheming?"_

 _Lord Taira dropped his voice low. "They must be preparing to offer a child to the royal courts. Only blood from the four great noble families stands a chance. Imagine the blood of two great families joined in one child. The chances drastically increase."_

" _But the collection is only in a decade."_

" _They must be planning for a quick pregnancy between their heirs."_

 _Lady Minamoto's maternal side came out. "But Lord Byakuya is still a boy, regardless of the foolish manhood laws."_

 _Lord Taira rolled his eyes._

" _Which makes it perfect that a grown woman should make an honest man out of him and be strong enough to carry such a powerful seed. But it's no matter. We can't let those families have such power. We barely contest with them now."_


	2. The Obligation

**_Maturity Warning_**

* * *

 _A bronze woman, blithe and toned stepped onto the dance floor. The others girls gave her a wide berth as she began to dance. She had short, choppy black hair and an arrogant smile. Her eyes were so amber they almost shone gold. Byakuya had never seen a girl like her before. He tried to look away but he realized, in spite of himself, that his eyes kept trailing back to her. He watched her hips as they rocked to and fro. When he noticed the hips he also paid attention to the rear. Men's rears were flat if they were toned and never made him think twice. This girl, this woman's rear was…round and shapely, a nice balance to her breasts. Byakuya grew ever hotter and he snapped at an attendant for another flask._

 _The old nobleman beside him leaned in to Byakuya and murmured, "Perhaps you should go easy on the liquor, my lord. Your face is burning red from its effects." Byakuya just blinked and set his flask down, his eyes finding their favorite resting place in the dark-skinned lady. His head felt fuzzy but even still his eyes situated on her buoyant breasts. She was so thin, he thought, how can she have such full proportions? It looked like she should be toppling over, not dancing smoothly._

 _She stopped moving and Byakuya was outraged that she should stop, before he realized the dance had ended and the bride and groom were ready to give their speeches of gratitude. All the guests were relatively quiet to listen, but a male attendant was in his ear whispering, making him outraged all over again until he realized what was happening._

" _My lord, many of the ladies have requested your presence."_

" _I refuse all of them."_

" _My lord, you might want to reconsider when I tell you some of the mighty names-" Byakuya turned and hit the attendant and many guests turned to stare and see what was going on._

" _Your insolence will not go unpunished." His grandfather was by his side before another word could be spoken. He guided Byakuya and the attendant around the corner of the house._

" _What is the meaning of your behavior, Byakuya?"_

" _Grandfather, this servant-"_

" _I sent him. These invitations are crucial and necessary. Given to me by the ladies' parents themselves. I've done something never before heard of: I'm giving you a choice of women. But rest assured your futures will be irreversibly linked after tonight so I caution you to choose wisely."_

" _But Grandfather," Byakuya turned red and it wasn't from his alcohol intake. "I just wish to return to my books and studies-"_

" _This is where they shall be put to use. You know every single noble family in the Seireitei. You know the most beneficial ones to our family. Your father did the same and so did I when we were your age. It is expected that powerful noblemen like us have a certain prowess. We must prove our fertility through bastard children."_

" _You have a bastard, grandfather?" Byakuya was stunned._

" _I do, but I never claimed her. I proved what I needed and was done with it."_

" _And my father?"_

" _He never had more than three bastards."_

" _I have siblings-"_

" _Do not talk foolishly, my boy. Your father was wise enough to not claim any of them. The Kuchiki line runs only through legitimate heirs. There is no question about that. There never will be."_

" _But those children-"_

" _Are none of our concern."_

" _But if you never claimed them how would that prove your fertility?"_

" _Because we make it no secret who the father is at gatherings like this, where we make as much noise as possible. You tell the attendant which noblewoman you chose and I will tell as many people as I can about your goings on. Byakuya, do you understand that you must do this without fail?" Byakuya nodded grimly and his grandfather left with a mention of the importance of their Shihoin treaty. That was the girl he chose though he had never seen the heir to that mighty clan. The attendant led him to a room right by the party, with very little privacy or seclusion._

 _The moment the doors slid shut behind him, he was staring at the bronze woman who had been dancing earlier._

" _I'm flattered Lord Byakuya, I didn't think you'd choose me for a moment there. Which is stupid of me, considering how you drooled over my dance."_

" _I did not-" She was only a few inches taller than him but she bent down and kissed him like it didn't matter. His eyes stretched wide as he felt her tongue in his mouth as it roamed sloppily._

" _You're not going to kiss me back?" She said pulling back slightly, with a forced pout. "Some man you've turned out to be." Now incensed with a challenge, he forced her back in front of him and he kissed her, not at all knowing what to do. He copied her kiss and cringed as her tongue stroked his. Then he shoved her away as her hands trailed into his hakama._

" _I know you don't want to have a child out of wedlock. I don't want to ruin your reputation."_

" _Such a chivalrous gentleman," She teased. "But you couldn't get me pregnant in one go anyway," He frowned and ripped ferociously at her sash to her astonishment. He shoved her on to the bedding and her robes fell open. Looking at the first naked woman he'd ever seen, he gulped, but his throat was too dry to make the attempt efficient._

" _You're not even ready yet," She pointed to his groin, to which she removed his robes carefully and pushed her breasts around him. He felt all the heat from earlier pooling downwards and he gripped her head with fierce concentration._

" _At least I don't have to be disappointed with how well-endowed you are. And for such a young one too. I can only dream of how big you'll be as a fully grown man."_

" _Why are you saying these things? I'm average," He hissed quietly. She only smirked, her eyes going to the shoji doors, and kept moaning in an over-the-top way. He was burning by that point and he pushed her on her back._

" _Oh, the missionary, my favorite. It's so romantic," She laughed and he furrowed his brow as she guided him into her and he froze. He'd already read many detailed stories about how great it felt to be in coitus with a woman; how good it felt to be inside of one. He hadn't fully prepared himself for the feelings it was giving him. He lost himself in it and some primal instinct took over, dilating his pupils, speeding his breathing up, tensing his muscles, and making his heart pump wildly._

 _He watched as her haughty face quickly dissolved into genuine ecstasy. She gripped onto his arms as he laboriously pushed in and out. He began seeing black spots, and when he thought he would pass out, he felt his release spring forth from his body and he let out a loud, involuntary shout of pleasure that surprised him almost more that his release. As it subsided he quickly pulled away from her and stumbled back in shock at what had just transpired. She lay panting still on the bed._

" _How did it feel?" She breathed heavily with her trademark smirk. She spread her legs open for him and he watched his release pool out of her. He averted his eyes until she straddled his waist, her breasts nearly smothering him. He jerked back and she ran her fingers through his hair. "You really are good looking," She observed soberly, turning his chin back and forth to get a better look at him. "Our child will be beautiful." Suddenly realizing he did not want his children to come out of such a uncouth woman, he tried to push her away. She stayed firm._


	3. Consummation of Convenience

_**Maturity Warning**_

* * *

Byakuya was at his desk, silently reading over different ledgers. He subsequently heard everything from the room down the hall: one of his maid's stifled cries and Abarai's deep groans. There was nothing he could do until they were both decent. Then he would eviscerate his lieutenant for daring to besmirch such a hallowed manor with the animalistic sounds of sex with one of the hand-picked women of virtue that made up the female housekeeping staff.

Byakuya wasn't able to take it any longer and stood from his desk. As he did so, the doors slid back and a sweet smelling incense of jasmine filled his study. He turned and saw his wife timidly standing in the doorway.

"Hisana?"

They were newlyweds.

She had been a maid briefly for his family and was of the lowest station. Her parents had been brutally murdered the night of their wedding as an act of rebellion by disgruntled nobles who couldn't stand a peasant woman grasping the coveted position of Lady Kuchiki. They had yet to consummate their vows. It had been one month. Theirs was had been a marriage of convenience as he was under strict confidentiality by his Grandfather that he should take a peasant as a bride. He was never told why but Byakuya assumed it had to do with the need to spit in the Shihoin clan's eyes for retracting their treaty after a decade of engagement and no child was born. He never once was able to get Lady Yoruichi pregnant.

Though he didn't know the first thing about Hisana, nor she of him, and despite the heart attack he gave her when he asked for her hand out of the blue, she was fiercely beautiful and extremely shy about the fact. She was the picture of traditional beauty and elegance now that she was no longer covered in dirt or the stench of the rukongai. Her pale pink silks were the same color of her rosebud lips. Her ink-black locks were long and gorgeously swept back from her face.

"Forgive me, Lord Kuchiki, I-"Her eyes roamed the ground nervously. "I thought those sounds were coming from you." He could see the blush easily on her white face and he slowly extended his hand to her. She reluctantly accepted it and he swiftly pulled her hand to his lips with all the efforts of chivalry that he could afford .

"I have no need or reason for a concubine, my lady. Not with a woman as beautiful as you by my side."

"There was something else I came to tell you."

"Yes?"

"I'm fertile right now," She blushed and sputtered the words but he managed to hold her gaze.

"Are you bothered by the atmosphere?" She looked around the tidy room.

"No. I'm not very romantic, I'm afraid. Forgive me." He kept her chin up and gently pushed his mouth against her lips. She carefully opened her lips for him and his tongue sensually touched all the right spots, eliciting a quiet breath. He pulled away and studied her face. Her thick eyelashes finally fluttered open.

"My lord, I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you. I'm not a virgin. I'm not very experienced by any means but there is a boy I left behind, the son of a fisherman-" His lips thinned.

"I'm not pleased to hear that. But seeming as you are not a noblewoman I think it's permissible to dismiss it." He gave her a small smile and a large grin lit up her beautiful face. She kissed him with a surprising seductiveness. She pulled away and kissed his neck, trailing down the natural exposure of his skin in his kimono. He shed his robes and let them fall. She stared at him in continuous surprise that a man could be so beautiful.

She nervously removed her obi and the layers of dresses beneath the main robe. Finally, she shrugged the white under robe away and she watched as his eyes roamed down; a heavy breath caught in his throat, his manhood twitching in response.

"Do you have any preferences?" He spoke up.

"How do you mean?"

"In position," She turned red again and shook her head. "Allow me," She nodded and allowed him to guide her to his desk. He sat her down into seiza, parting her thighs so his hand could slip between her legs. She gasped at his experienced hand. It wasn't long before he was watching her thrust herself against his hand. He found himself smiling down at her pert rear as it rippled with these movements. He flipped her a little roughly onto her back so that she was leaning on top of his desk. She stared up at him, her eyes half-lidded and her lips parted. He took both of her small breasts into his hands. They were perfectly proportioned to her petite frame and fit neatly into his palms. He flicked the areole in amusement but was stunned when she grasped at him and moved her wrist that betrayed her façade of innocence. He froze as he watched her do this.

"How do you know to do this?"

"I've never been fully ready when I've been in coitus. You're sizeable and I could still bleed." Her unintentional dirty talk mixed with her harsh rukongai crass unexpectedly made him beyond ready. He thrust his mouth to her ear.

"You've never properly been bedded." He hovered over her after these words, looking into her rounded eyes. She reached up and stroked his chest. He did as her gaze commanded, slowly pushing the tip in, and then shoving his whole length into her. She yelped lightly, her back arching off his desk slightly, her nipples visibly shrinking in front of his eyes. As he pulled back she gripped his bicep tightly with a whimper.

"I don't understand," He assured.

"It's not that; it felt really good." He smiled and gradually increased his tempo, watching her breasts move to his rhythm, and enjoying the sound of flesh colliding with flesh. She finished quietly out of modesty, her entire torso trembling uncontrollably. He willed himself to catch up early and instinctively pulled her lower torso into the air to keep the result from leaking out. She looked at him questioningly but didn't vocalize her confusion. To appease her, he licked at her and she put a hand over her mouth.

"My lord, you don't have to-"

"My lord Kuchiki!" A servant called commandingly from outside the study and forcing him to stop before her barely began. Hisana curled into a ball to grab her under robe. Byakuya took his eyes from the scene of their consummation to glare viciously at the servant's silhouette.

"Be gone."

"But my lord, it's Lady Kuchiki's sister- she's been found."

"What?" Hisana gasped. Byakuya sent the servant away and Hisana nakedly leapt over to her clothes and began dressing. "I must make the preparations to prepare for her arrival,"

"My lady, we must consummate at least twice more to ensure a pregnancy." He was nakedly on his knees before her as she stood.

"It only takes one try when a woman is fertile. I've been told Kuchiki men are bulls by nearly everyone." She bowed her head slightly and kissed him delicately. He knew she spoke and acted absentmindedly, otherwise such a bravado would've been impossible for her to muster without stuttering as she was wont to do. He flushed at the compliment when she turned to leave regardless of the emptiness of her actions and words.


	4. The Upset

His panel of advisors and emissaries were uproarious at the news. The advisors fiercely defending Lord Byakuya and the emissaries attacking him. How dare a peasant womb accept a high-breed's seed so readily when a high bred lady could not?

Byakuya understood how bad it made Yoruichi look but now, he thought sardonically, she would know how it felt to be mocked and looked down upon as barren as he had been for being sterile and impotent. His wife, though not his choice and a rugged peasant, was pregnant. Her womb had taken his seed and was now blooming.

It only took one single try.

His smile crept upon his face and the room went silent.

One of his advisors frantically bowed, "You must retire my lord to her ladyship. You are exhausted."

"I have no need to go to my wife at the moment. I have much work to do and if only one night has blessed her womb thus-"

"One…night?"

"Good evening." Byakuya exited the room to a cacophony of shouting.

* * *

Yoruichi, having been told all the news, snapped her fan in half with only her forefinger and thumb. The rest of her clansmen watched her silently.

" _He_ is the infertile one. My womb is not barren!"

"We cut off an alliance with one of the most powerful clans in the Seireitei because we thought as much. Who will take you now?" Yoruichi looked at her toddler brother, Yuushiro, who barely understood what was going on. The nursemaid walked him out of the room before the inevitable escalations of tempers were exchanged.

"I bedded Lord Byakuya in order to attain the visiting rights to my brother. Nothing more. You cannot deny me those rights now after all the years I gave myself to that selfish, spoiled-"

"I think sensuous, sultry, and handsome are the words she used to describe the next Lord Kuchiki. Scratch the last line off the record." Her father instructed the scribe sitting in the corner, scribbling away frantically with a brush and multiple batches of ink to spare. She glared at him with tears brimming her eyes. She threw herself at his feet.

"Father, I have done everything you've ever asked without complaint. Yet you've denied me the only thing I've ever wanted."

"Which is?"

"The freedom to choose my life."

"A girlish and preposterous whim, I'm sure you'll grow out of it eventually." He took his tea from a servant and they whisked the tray away.

"Please father, I've done everything-" He struck her across the face sending her to the ground with his mighty hand.

"You've lost me the most important alliance in the history of the clan, the history of court, and the history of all the Seireitei! You've robbed me of my chance to put a grandchild on the soul king's throne. By your barren womb you have doomed the family to near extinction. Your mother only produced two legitimate heirs for me; a useless, barren girl and a frail boy who will probably prefer the company of men seeing his disposition now for feminine things. Get out of my sight."

* * *

Hisana.

Beautiful, sensible, pure, Hisana.

He watched his bride silently embroider a temari ball in her let-out robes. Catching him staring upon her, she blushed and averted her eyes meekly.

"How did you know?"

"My lord?"

"That you would get pregnant in one night after only one coupling?"

"It's how women in the…place I'm from…typically avoid pregnancies. Yet, it's also useful for achieving them." Seeing her hesitation, he urged her to go on. "A woman's…cycle changes much like the seasons. Like the autumn, it begins to disappear and dry. Then in the winter the land is totally infertile and unable to grow anything. This lasts the longest. Then in the spring, when vegetation is ripe for budding, life at its most possible but only for a small window. Summer, it's still likely but not guaranteed, and it quickly wanes back into Autumn."

"Do most women know this?"

"Any active women do, I should think." Hisana scratched her head as she seemed to do when thinking deeply. He hoped she was wrong, for Yoruichi's sake. If she was not it could spell trouble for the heir to the Shihoin name.

* * *

A/N: Time in this is captured in snippets like a enacted journal entry from numerous sources, in case you were wondering. Those snippets can jump ahead or back at intermittent amounts of time.


	5. Panic

" _It's been a year!" Byakuya paced the floor into oblivion. His grandfather sat coolly on the ground listening to his grandson. "Surely something would've happened by now!"_

" _Byakuya, creating life is a delicate thing. You read the book I lent you?"_

" _Every page- at least thrice, grandfather. We've done everything in the book several times." Byakuya's voice seemed to drop daily, among other things. His grandfather noticed a shadow over his chin that went unshaved._

 _Byakuya's hair was unruly and frazzled._

 _The courtiers had already begun to spin their vicious tales._

 _The pressure to impregnate the most powerful lady in the Seireitei was dislocating his shoulders from the weight._

" _Have there been any signs?"_

" _She thought she was with child a few months ago, but it simply turned into the stomach flu. What am I doing wrong, grandfather? Is there something wrong with me? I am the only heir, there can't be anything wrong with me!" The panic brimmed in his grandson's eyes and his face was flush. His grandfather solemnly stood and pulled his grandson to his chest. Byakuya bit back his tears poorly and heaved silently in his grandfather's arms._

" _I'm sorry, my boy." He felt guilty for seeing his beloved, only grandchild go through so much fear and pain . Especially after suffering terribly a few years before at the loss of both his parents in one night. But Byakuya had so much untapped potential in everything, far surpassing the abilities of either of his parents, both Shinigami of high noble lineage. Ginrei tried to get his grandson to realize it. "We can always try with another lady, in secret, to see if it could be you?"_

" _But what of Lady Yoruichi? Sure she pesters me and she has the biggest mouth I've ever heard, but wouldn't it would ruin her reputation?" Byakuya hastily wiped his immature tears away. His grandfather smiled at Byakuya._

" _Your sense of honor and justice is truly something to be admired."_


	6. Fertility

"I'm sure you will remember, my lady, to not share his lordship's bed for at least sixty days."

"Not thirty?" The physician bit down on his lower lip and Hisana, cradling one of the most important heirs in her arm, waved her ladies maids out.

"Your health, my lady, as I'm sure you've noticed, isn't quite right. Something during the delivery has left the lining within you…damaged. Sudden intimacy could render you infertile for good."

Hisana remained silent, pensively looking down at her son. She waved the doctor out and slipped one of her nipples into the infant's mouth. She heaved a deep sigh as her son fed, which relieved the extreme pressure from her breasts. She hummed one of the lullabies of the common people to her child softly, rubbing his small back for warmth beneath his swaddling.

One of her chosen ladies' maids came in and gasped, fainting to the floor before she could take another step. The other handpicked ladies' maids rushed in to assist her before being scandalized themselves.

"My lady!" The bravest one mustered. "It is egregiously disgusting to breastfeed. You are the Lady of this magnanimously noble house and therefore a group of wet nurses must be brought in."

"The pressure in my breasts is unbearable." Hisana spoke gently to no one in particular.

"We all know many different methods to remove the milk from your breasts. It must be gone before the sixty days is up so that his lordship may… enjoy them without restraint." The ladies' maids smiled mischievously as if they were all part of an inside joke. Hisana knew only their names and nothing else about them. She had never been to court and knew no other noble ladies she could personally choose to be her maids. She didn't think she would ever be allowed in court and besides, they were all chosen to benefit the Kuchiki family.

She did not cease breastfeeding and when Nobuko came to take her son away, Hisana struggled, but Nobuko lithely slipped the boy into her arms and he screamed at being interrupted from his meal. Her breast leaked and the other ladies rushed to dab and prevent the flow. Nobuko whisked the newborn off to be ritually cleansed before the naming ceremony.

"Did you hear the name his lordship has settled on?" Hisana didn't respond out of her solemn disregard for their intervening traditions. "Hisaaki," Hisana's head snapped up and she turned the color of her namesake.

"You must please him so, my lady."

"I don't know what I did to please him."

"Other than producing, effortlessly, his long awaited heir, you proved his potency, my lady."

"Was it in question?" The ladies began to prepare her bath outside her chamber. They all shared cautious glances.

"He was unable to get his mistress pregnant for a decade."

"I see. So it was her who was actually barren?" More hesitant looks.

"Lady Shihoin has fallen pregnant."

"Does his lordship know of this?"

"Fear not, my lady, she's his mistress no more."

"That's not what I asked." Her ladies hung their heads. "He is not to know until after the naming ceremony. Even then, I would hope he didn't hear of it."

Her ladies chorused their compliance.


	7. Naming Ceremony

Hisana bowed, her jasmine aura wafting beatifically around her as she moved, carrying his son; they were both adorned in pure white. Her long black hair hung loose and she smiled at him as she passed the infant to him. She gently showed him how to support the baby's neck and then sat back, watching his flat face falter. The tiniest of grins peeled the corner of his mouth back.

"Kuchiki, Hisaaki. Is this acceptable?" Hisana couldn't believe it was actually true and bowed in bewilderment. "After the twenty second leader of the Kuchiki family."

"A very wise and compassionate leader." Ginrei nodded his consent as he entered the room in his silk. Byakuya stroked the smooth tuft of black hair that decorated his son's head before passing him slowly back to Hisana.

"It is rare for such intimate moments as these between the family, I treasure it." Byakuya said taking a deep breath through his mouth with closed eyes. He ground the ink against the stone and dripped water in languidly until it was the desired consistency. Hisana tried not to stare at how fine of ink he was using and averted her eyes to her cherub-cheeked son, who stared back at her with warm brown eyes.

She then watched as Byakuya expertly lowered his calligraphy brush down to the parchment and cast the first few strokes. Once all the strokes had been completed he sat back and rolled his fingers into fists that rested in the joints of his hips. Ginrei bristled with pride that he could barely contain. Those grey eyes set in the old man's face turned and gazed at Hisana who couldn't meet his stare.

"You have fulfilled the ultimate duty to this family. For that you will always have a place of honor among the Kuchiki ancestors." Ginrei spoke warmly and Hisana looked up in astonishment, and Hisaaki cooed happily. She cooed back to him, proffering one finger for her son to wrap the entirety of his hand around.

"It is a fine son you have given to me." Byakuya's compliment was much more stiff and selfish and she cringed at the nature of the sentiment. It did not matter for he was too enamored of his son to notice her.

Ginrei watched this exchange inquisitively. "My lady, since Hisaaki is lacking in grandmothers, I must propose another candidate to look after Hisaaki during your time of relaxation."

"My lord?"

"My daughter, Lady Seijun."

"Grandfather?" Byakuya spoke up. "I do not think that is-"

"Nonsensicality is a terrible trait in a leader." Ginrei silenced Byakuya quite harshly. The color in Byakuya's lips drained from the force he used to keep his mouth shut.

"Hisana is of the peasantry. They aren't used to having others take care of their offspring."

"She will get to take care of her son when she is well enough to resume her duties in your bed. One night," Ginrei chuffed at the absurdity that they still had only been intimate once. "I will take my leave now." Left alone with him, Hisana tried to fight it but the pain became too much and she whimpered. He looked at her.

"You're in pain. How might I assist?" She scrunched her face into a hard smile.

"I'm afraid it might disturb his lordship,"

"I insist."

"I couldn't."

"But I insisted." Hisana pulled the outer flap of her robes back and revealed blood and pus around her breast seeping through.

"Hisana," He reached out for her but she quickly covered herself conservatively. "What does the physician say? I still haven't received a report about the labor."

"I'm afraid the only son I can give you is Hisaaki, my lord." He cusped her hand in reassurance.

"I avoided our bed together to prove a point. I see now how it has affected you,"

"No, my lord," Hisana eyes welled with tears. "The only treasure I can offer now is my motherhood to Hisaaki only." He pulled his hand away.

"If you are telling me you only want one child, I'm afraid it simply won't do." Tears gushed from her eyes.

"I wanted to give as many children to the most generous man I've ever known. But I must not!"

"You dare to be insolent with that back-handed-" Hisana kissed his hand softly.

"You've been so hurt by a woman. You don't know how to properly love one." He gripped her waist carefully but firmly.

"I could bed you all night long and prove you wrong." He growled at her insult.

"That's my point. Love isn't all sexual relations! So I beg of you, take a mistress, take three. Please, my lord! I will find you the most beautiful concubines you've ever beheld; I swear it on my life!"

"What an odd wife you are."

"You don't want me in that way, you know how pathetic I am at it-"

"That is for _me_ to decide."


	8. Deceit

_Releasing rather violently inside Yoruichi, he slumped over her not bothering to collect himself as he went to kiss her. Their kiss went deep. He gently gyrated his body against hers to get a feel of her as they pulled at one another's mouths._

" _I feel confident this time,"_

" _When do you never feel confident?" She laughed. He pouted theatrically and she laughed further, earning a smile from him._

" _I'm serious,"_

" _That is something you never are," He nibbled punishingly at her neck and she laughed so hard she could scarcely breathe. When she composed herself she stared at him. "Byakuya, you are still so young. Fatherhood would not become you."_

" _I suppose we won't find out until our child is born." He slipped his mouth down to her womb. She stared at his handsome face forlornly, letting him adore the womb she would never let bear his children._


	9. Without Mercy

"Byakuya, we must speak at once." Ginrei announced in lieu of a servant. Realizing the urgency, Byakuya took a quiet leave from the room in which he had been carefully monitoring his aunt as she assisted with the care of his wife and child.

Lady Seijun looked at Hisana who carefully watched over her son play with his woolen toys. When the men were gone, Seijun waited expectantly for Hisana to tell her what was happening.

Both women remained in silence.

Hisana tugged habitually at her sleeve.

Seijun's eyes narrowed to slits.

* * *

"Lady Yoruichi, please sit,"

"I cannot, Soi Fon," Yoruichi paced, rubbing her protruding womb. "I've sacrificed so much for that petulant boy."

"It was an arrangement neither of you could avoid." Yoruichi shoved a ledger under her nose. Soi Fon read over the parchment in bewilderment. "I don't understand, 3,500 _kan_ for the flowers of wild carrot?"

"Purchased all within the last ten years." Yoruichi hinted, wringing her hands.

"I'm afraid I'm too stupid to understand, my lady," Soi Fon bowed her head. Yoruichi snatched the ledger.

"It's because you've never been forced to be with a man." Feeling twinges of pain from her lower spine she slowly began to lower herself onto a cushioned seat and Soi Fon went to assist. "The flowers of wild carrot act as an abortifacient."

Soi Fon's eyes went over the ledger once more and then enlarged.

"M-My lady, there are over twelve different transactions here!"

"Yes," Yoruichi sighed. "Kuchiki men are known to be as fertile as bulls."

"If this fell into the wrong hands- this must be destroyed-" Yoruichi snatched the paper from Soi Fon's hands.

"Do not!" Her bronze finger lightly stroked each transaction on the ledger lovingly. "They may not have been desired but I still mourned each and every one." Soi Fon had gone as white as snow. Trembling, she held in her sick. She pleaded desperately with Yoruichi.

"My lady, you must lock it away. If the Kuchiki clan ever hears about this, you'll be executed without hesitation. Without mercy."


	10. Worser for Wear

" _Sosuke!" Hisana hurried as fast as she could with her basket on her hip. He swooped down low to kiss her._

" _Did you get it?"_

" _I did!"_

" _I told you that you would be beautiful enough to impress even a noble house," He hummed, lightly making circles on her waist with his fingertips. She leaned tiredly against his chest. He took the basket from her and carried it as they walked back to her hut._

" _How was today's catch?"_

" _Decent, with my aim, anyway."_

" _So I can trust you to always feed me?" Hisana teased and he kissed the back of her neck before letting her go to her home._

" _Among other things."_

" _Sosuke," She giggled shyly._

" _Turn around and kiss me, Hisana." She obeyed shyly, kissing him back eagerly. Hearing footsteps she pushed him away in time to greet Rukia innocently. Rukia was standing beside a tall, auburn street thug whom she called a friend. They were laughing heartily about something and Rukia held a small package of salt._

" _Sosuke! Did you bring the fish?" Rukia asked and Sosuke smiled._

" _Of course. They are inside."_

" _Stop harassing Sosuke into bringing us food!" Their mother shouted from inside the house._

" _Don't listen to your mother!" Their dad shouted from around back of the house and everyone snickered._

" _Do stay to eat with us, Sosuke- Oh! Renji, how good of you to finally show your face around these parts again." Renji bowed low._

" _My sincerest apologies O-Rini, I've been working for the season."_

" _For a mob boss?" Sosuke inquired cynically._

" _Renji? That better not be true." Rini stuck her head out the door covered in a bloodied apron and fish guts. She was as beautiful as her two stunning daughters, only with a few wrinkles and streaks of grey hair. He scratched the back of his neck. Rukia stuck out her neck for him,_

" _Mother! We all do what we have to- back off." Rini pouted at her youngest child._

" _Watch how you speak to me, Rukia-chan." Rukia skulked and dragged Renji round back to help her father prepare the cooking fire._

" _Oh, Sosuke why can't all my future son in laws be as respectable as you?"_

" _Mother!" Hisana turned beat red._

" _You'd let Renji marry Rukia?" Sosuke inquired, unfazed. Rini shrugged._

" _He's handsome and good to my Rukia. That's hard to find around these parts where wife-beaters and wife-mongers are the common streak. Come,"_

" _We'll be just a moment, O-Rini." She winked and Hisana blushed again. Sosuke pushed her raven hair from her face and kissed her passionately, pulling her into his arms._

" _Come to my house tonight," He breathed deeply, teasing her skirt up to her hips and she shrieked, afraid they'd get caught. She laughed at his expression and strung her arms around his shoulders; he swung her around._

* * *

Having finished secretly breastfeeding her son, Hisana rejoined the garden party, finding her way back to her husband's side.

"Hisana, just in time. I would like for you to meet Lord Aizen." Her eyes widened and Aizen stared at her quizzically.

"Lord A-aizen," She forced a stiff bob of her head. He bowed slowly in return, eyes fixated on her heatedly.

"Lady…Hisana."

"Do you know each other?" Byakuya asked, puzzled.

"Surely not. Perhaps in a different life." Aizen responded matter-of-factly. Byakuya raised an eyebrow in her direction when Aizen turned around to address someone else. She wilted under his scrutiny. How could she tell her husband after things were beginning to go so well that Lord Aizen was the son of a fisherman that held her maidenhood?

And worse.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oohh boiiii


	11. Brown

"Why, Hisana, if I remember correctly you were supposed to be the Kuchiki maid not the Kuchiki whore." Sosuke cornered her between a wood pile and the servant's quarters late that night.

"Well I certainly played your whore, did I not?"

"Do not take airs with me. I saw your son, he has _brown_ eyes; _brown_ , Hisana, is a color neither you nor Lord Kuchiki possess."

"Unhand me, Lord Aizen."

"How could you leave me for the man you worked for?" He towered over her in his finery. The smell of fish on him was replaced by the scent of lilac. He tried to kiss her but she shoved him back. "Don't tell me you have feelings for that impotent stone?" He snarled bitterly.

"Do not insult his lordship in front of me,"

"I think you've insulted him enough. He'll kick you out of the household if you're lucky. You'll be on your own. I watched the nobles slaughter Rini and Hisao. He'll slaughter you if he really thinks badly of you." Hisana burst into quiet sobs. "Let me take you away from here-"

"And do what? Become _Lady_ Aizen? Of the Aizen clan? What are you _playing_ at? I've lost everything, my family, you-"

"You'll never lose me."

"A servant is coming- leave!" Hisana hurried to the veranda.

"My lady, there you are! His lordship has requested you to join him tonight."

"Of course."

* * *

She followed the servant and walked into Byakuya's bed chamber in her white robes. She sank against him, kissing him sweetly. His strong arms enveloped her appreciatively. He felt her tears on his cheek and pulled away from her.

"Hisana,"

"Yes?"

"You've been crying. Are you not happy?"

"I _am_ happy." She tried to pull him back down for a kiss but he sat her down on the bedding. She grabbed his beautiful hands and traced the palms. His brow furrowed. "Byakuya, I've done something horrible."

"I doubt it,"

"No, Byakuya, this is serious. I've shamed this entire family." The tears poured freely. His expression flattened into his business expression. "Hisaaki…" She could barely breathe. "Is not your son." Thinking it a joke he waited for the punchline.

"…that fisherman?"

"I had only lain with him a few times when I wasn't fertile but when I told him that I got a job as a maid here he…-" Byakuya, understanding immediately what she was insinuating, stiffened. He was torn between wishing to slaughter the man who ravaged his wife and throwing his wife to the curb for passing off a peasant child as his. She sobbed into her hands, shoulders heaving.

"So, you're telling me I could still be impotent?"

"Oh, Byakuya, no we haven't begun to really try-" He turned away from her.

"And we shall not continue to." She turned and ran from the room.


	12. Trials and Errors

"I'm sorry, Rukia. You'll have to continue to hide here as a maid for the foreseeable future." Hisana was in the servant quarters that had been empty as the maids had all been sent out for their morning chores around the estate. Rukia noticed tears brimming in Hisana's eyes and she put her hand over her sister's impeccably clean hand.

"I don't mind. Being a Kuchiki maid comes with a cushy pension and three square meals. I get a sleeping quarters better than those in the lower districts."

"Just remember to keep your head low and only work in the kitchens." Hisana wiped the oncoming tear away before it could fall and Rukia's brow crinkled in consternation.

"Is everything alright with his lordship-"

"I can't talk about this now." Hisana dismissed impatiently. Rukia crossed her arms.

"You may be Lady Kuchiki now but I am still your sister. You can't talk to me like that!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Rukia. I'm not thinking straight. I'm-"Rukia collected her sister into her arms soothingly.

"Is my nephew alright then?" She felt Hisana nod against her shoulder.

"Did you ever hear from Sosuke after I left?" Hisana whispered and Rukia looked into her eyes.

"Now that you mention it, no. He never even said goodbye. The night that you left for the estate to await your marriage, he came to soothe our parents, or be soothed by them, I'm not sure. Then he just seemed to disappear. I'm not sure what was said." Rukia studied her sister's face. "Do you miss him?"

"I don't know. You think I wouldn't with my good fortune and all…"

" _But_ you loved each other. It's not going to be like one of your servants who are so easy to dismiss. What about Lord Kuchiki?"

"What about him?" Hisana weakly whimpered.

"What are your feelings for him?"

"I thought things were starting to look up for us and then…I ruined everything. I doubt he should ever look my way again. Lord Ginrei is already making preparations."

"Preparations for what?"

"Concubines." Rukia's face fell at the mention. Anger broiled within her. She silently vowed to hate her brother in law.

* * *

Yoruichi had been stuck in labor for ten hours and counting. The pain was more a hindrance to what she wanted to be doing and would have rather been doing. She was consigned to her confinement and now that the baby was coming, she had to sit on a cold, hard birthing chair surrounded by maids and a midwife. One of her maid's came into the birthing room with a pensive look and Yoruichi had her explain herself. The maid leaned in to whisper in her ear,

"It's your father's third seat. He's been asking incessantly about if the baby was born or not. Is he here on your father's accord?"

"See him out and tell him he'll get a hell butterfly when it is!" Yoruichi snarled and the maid scurried out. _Fucking idiot,_ Yoruichi thought angrily. _Is Kisuke trying to blow our cover? Does he want my father to kill him when he finds out?_

A wave of pain splashed through her chest and rolled into a tidal wave in her abdomen. She gripped the birthing stool and growled until she was red in the face.

"Not yet, milady! The baby is not ready to be pushed-"

"What does it matter? I've already proved that I can get pregnant!" Her maids looked at her in horror so she relaxed herself as best she could under the circumstances and under the terrified gazes and suspicious looks that her maids gave to one another.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the bombardment of updates. But I've had so many of these chapters just collecting dust as I forgot to post them all this time.


	13. Force

_He watched the maid he hadn't ever noticed before._

 _She was a wisp- silently moving from room to room with fresh bedding and fresh sealant for the shoji. She never spoke to other maids, which was the reason he never took notice. He could tell that she had tried everything in her power to appear clean and put together; dirt still dusted her skin in blotches and her hair, having yet to be introduced to soap, was dull and oily. It hung around her face in tangles and strings._

What a joke _Byakuya thought sourly._ How could my failed relationship with Lady Yoruichi come to this?

 _He drummed his fingers against his silk before turning his palm over and examining it. Even the many callouses he accrued during his training were buffered smooth again. Not a speck of dirt remained beneath his trimmed and filed finger nails. He caught his reflection in the mirror across the room: shiny, smooth hair and a healthy complexion._

 _The maid was pallid and bony._

 _T_ _he perfect slap in the face to the Shihoin clan._

 _He summoned her from across the courtyard._ _The maid looked around before cautiously approaching him. Before she got too close, she bowed deeply and sloppily._

" _What is your name?"_

" _My lord?"_

" _Your name?"_

" _Hisana."_

" _How long have you worked here?"_

" _A few weeks."_

" _Where do you come from?" Pensive under his scrutiny and hard gaze, she trembled. Seeing this, he tried to lighten up, unaware of his forward nature until that very second._

" _I don't come from the Seireitei,"_ Of course she doesn't _, he thought cynically. Her accent was telltale enough that she was from a very poor part of the rukongai._

" _Are you married?"_

" _No."_

" _It's settled. You will be my wife in a week's time exactly."_

" _You're making fun of me," She turned slightly pink under her grime but her paleness was of a sickness and so hardly any color came through._

" _I do not delight in others' misery,"_

" _B-but why?" She whispered, glancing down at her appearance._

" _You do not wish to marry a lord? A noble?"_

" _Oh, it isn't that-"_

" _Then it's settled. You may return home tonight with my own guards but you will be sleeping here until the wedding. That is all."_


	14. A Stillness Befalls

He heard Hisana wailing like a starved cat from her chambers. He, without thinking, hurried to her aid and found her in her room surrounded by her lady's maids who were all holding back tears and failing. Hisana was inconsolable.

"What in heaven is going on?" He demanded, staring at all the emotionally disturbed women. A soft hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to see his grandfather, nodding dejectedly, and leading him away from his wife's room and into his study.

"An assassin snuck past our sentries last night. Hisaaki is…dea-"

"No," Byakuya pulled away from his grandfather's oncoming and out of character embrace. He remembered it all keenly: Hisaaki was not his. Hisaaki was a peasant child given a name too mighty for him to ever deserve or bear. Hisaaki was a bastard commoner. And yet… "No,"

"My boy, I am profoundly sorry." Byakuya's face was hot and moist and he could feel the tears streaming but he didn't know why. He was sorry and disturbed that an innocent had to be slain but it wasn't his son so he did not mourn the child like his son. So why was he so distraught? Shakily he reached out for his desk and missed, only staying upright because his grandfather caught his arm.

"It…it must've been Lord Shihoin's doing…the suddenness of her pregnancy…"

"Byakuya," His grandfather was gravely concerned about his grandson's off behavior. "There is no weakness in mourning, do not fight it,"

"I…need to send out scouts to make sure we're all safe…"

"We can bring in concubines, Byakuya, you will have more children." He spun on his grandfather, barely registering that he was losing consciousness.

"We must continue a legitimate succession, grandfather."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible." His grandfather explained the doctor's reports on his wife's health after the birth. He collapsed then and faintly heard his grandfather's call for the physician.

* * *

Byakuya awoke in his plush bed with a cool, damp cloth upon his forehead. The physician smiled sadly at him.

"Lord Kuchiki,"

"She can't have more children?"

"It wouldn't be wise right now. I can't rule out children all together."

"But her chances of dying are-"

"My lord, I must protest this vigor," The physician gently pushed him back against his bed. Not only was his reality shattered at his wife's confession, but he had ignored her pleas to take a concubine- he could've killed her unwittingly. Even if she could have another child, would he truly be capable of siring upon her?

It was legal for him- his every right- to slay his wife for her crimes.

So the real question remained:

Did he even want her to live after what she had done to smear the Kuchiki name?

* * *

 **A/N:** Calling it a night on the updates. Thanks for the patience!


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